Effect of drop‐size parameterization and rain amount on blade‐lifetime calculations considering leading‐edge erosion

Abstract Leading‐edge erosion (LEE) of wind turbine blades is caused by the impact of particles, for example, raindrops, and leads to a loss in the power production and high maintenance cost. Investigations have shown that a reduction in tip speed, so‐called erosion‐safe mode, increases the blade li...

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Main Authors: Anna‐Maria Tilg, Witold R. Skrzypiński, Ásta Hannesdóttir, Charlotte Bay Hasager
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022-05-01
Series:Wind Energy
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/we.2710
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author Anna‐Maria Tilg
Witold R. Skrzypiński
Ásta Hannesdóttir
Charlotte Bay Hasager
author_facet Anna‐Maria Tilg
Witold R. Skrzypiński
Ásta Hannesdóttir
Charlotte Bay Hasager
author_sort Anna‐Maria Tilg
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Leading‐edge erosion (LEE) of wind turbine blades is caused by the impact of particles, for example, raindrops, and leads to a loss in the power production and high maintenance cost. Investigations have shown that a reduction in tip speed, so‐called erosion‐safe mode, increases the blade lifetime but the influence of different drop‐size parameterizations and rain amounts on the blade lifetime is unclear. This study compares blade lifetime calculations using two different drop‐size parameterizations, which both describe a characteristic drop size of a rain measurement. Furthermore, changes in blade lifetime in case rain amount is increased or decreased are investigated as well as the effect of different wind shear exponents. The blade‐lifetime calculations are based on a kinetic‐energy model and an accumulated rain model. The results show that a drop‐size parameterization based on rain rate leads to 44 times longer blade lifetime compared with a parameterization using in situ drop‐size measurements. This large difference is probably due to the underestimation of large drops of the first mentioned parameterization. A change in rain amount of about ±17 % results only in a marginal change in blade lifetime. For both cases and models, an extension of blade lifetime was calculated when reducing the tip speed during specific rain events. The change of wind shear exponents caused as well a considerable effect on the lifetime prediction. Overall, blade lifetime is primary depending on the chosen model, where the kinetic‐energy model is highly sensitive to the drop‐size parameterization.
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spelling doaj.art-852ec4f1ee984722805c0e9a0a3bc2992022-12-22T01:19:12ZengWileyWind Energy1095-42441099-18242022-05-0125595296710.1002/we.2710Effect of drop‐size parameterization and rain amount on blade‐lifetime calculations considering leading‐edge erosionAnna‐Maria Tilg0Witold R. Skrzypiński1Ásta Hannesdóttir2Charlotte Bay Hasager3Department of Wind Energy Technical University of Denmark Roskilde DenmarkDepartment of Wind Energy Technical University of Denmark Roskilde DenmarkDepartment of Wind Energy Technical University of Denmark Roskilde DenmarkDepartment of Wind Energy Technical University of Denmark Roskilde DenmarkAbstract Leading‐edge erosion (LEE) of wind turbine blades is caused by the impact of particles, for example, raindrops, and leads to a loss in the power production and high maintenance cost. Investigations have shown that a reduction in tip speed, so‐called erosion‐safe mode, increases the blade lifetime but the influence of different drop‐size parameterizations and rain amounts on the blade lifetime is unclear. This study compares blade lifetime calculations using two different drop‐size parameterizations, which both describe a characteristic drop size of a rain measurement. Furthermore, changes in blade lifetime in case rain amount is increased or decreased are investigated as well as the effect of different wind shear exponents. The blade‐lifetime calculations are based on a kinetic‐energy model and an accumulated rain model. The results show that a drop‐size parameterization based on rain rate leads to 44 times longer blade lifetime compared with a parameterization using in situ drop‐size measurements. This large difference is probably due to the underestimation of large drops of the first mentioned parameterization. A change in rain amount of about ±17 % results only in a marginal change in blade lifetime. For both cases and models, an extension of blade lifetime was calculated when reducing the tip speed during specific rain events. The change of wind shear exponents caused as well a considerable effect on the lifetime prediction. Overall, blade lifetime is primary depending on the chosen model, where the kinetic‐energy model is highly sensitive to the drop‐size parameterization.https://doi.org/10.1002/we.2710blade lifetimedrop sizeerosion‐safe modeleading‐edge erosionNorth Searain
spellingShingle Anna‐Maria Tilg
Witold R. Skrzypiński
Ásta Hannesdóttir
Charlotte Bay Hasager
Effect of drop‐size parameterization and rain amount on blade‐lifetime calculations considering leading‐edge erosion
Wind Energy
blade lifetime
drop size
erosion‐safe mode
leading‐edge erosion
North Sea
rain
title Effect of drop‐size parameterization and rain amount on blade‐lifetime calculations considering leading‐edge erosion
title_full Effect of drop‐size parameterization and rain amount on blade‐lifetime calculations considering leading‐edge erosion
title_fullStr Effect of drop‐size parameterization and rain amount on blade‐lifetime calculations considering leading‐edge erosion
title_full_unstemmed Effect of drop‐size parameterization and rain amount on blade‐lifetime calculations considering leading‐edge erosion
title_short Effect of drop‐size parameterization and rain amount on blade‐lifetime calculations considering leading‐edge erosion
title_sort effect of drop size parameterization and rain amount on blade lifetime calculations considering leading edge erosion
topic blade lifetime
drop size
erosion‐safe mode
leading‐edge erosion
North Sea
rain
url https://doi.org/10.1002/we.2710
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